


Left Behind

by stayingwhelmed



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, Gen, Keith (Voltron)-centric, because I couldn't help myself, not romantic - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:11:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12763875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stayingwhelmed/pseuds/stayingwhelmed
Summary: He can’t believe he didn’t make the connection earlier. How many times has he looked over Shiro’s mission file and seen that face? Because this kid is the spitting image of Matthew Holt. And Keith can almost picture him—her—with longer hair, bickering with her brother, a soft purple dress standing out in the sunset.





	Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> this one-shot was inspired by a post by @heartofvoltrcn on tumblr:  
> https://heartofvoltrcn.tumblr.com/post/166480526961/kicks-down-door-if-keith-and-pidge-were-both-at
> 
> disclaimer: I attempted a line of sciencespeak and I am not a science person so forgive me if it’s misused

The sky glows a gentle yellow as the sun descends towards the horizon line. Keith scowls. Above him looms a technological masterpiece, crafted by the most skilled engineers in the nation. Keith wants to short-circuit the entire thing. Because this sleek, shining spaceship set against the picturesque sunset is about to take Shiro and shoot him off to the furthest reaches of the solar system. And Keith is happy for Shiro; he really is. It’s the dream mission for any pilot: to travel farther than any person on Earth has ever traveled before. But Keith can’t help but feel uneasy about his mentor being ripped away from him. He’s just gotten around to admitting that Shiro’s family. He can’t lose his family—not again.

“And you see those thrusters? They’re so powerful that the ship doesn’t even need to be launched by a rocket,” Shiro points out, a hand on Keith’s shoulder. Ever the steady, calm presence to temper Keith’s… temper. Keith swallows a lump in his throat.

“That’s great, Shiro.” He manages a smile. “You’re going to have a _blast_." 

Shiro coughs. “Did Keith Kogane just make an unironic pun?” He’s answered by a shrug, and Shiro sighs, no doubt seeing right through the forced enthusiasm. “Hey. I know this is hard for you, but it’s just one year. I’ll be back before you know it.”

 “Something could go wrong,” Keith mutters, dropping all pretenses of being cheerful.

“You don’t have faith in my piloting abilities?” Keith shoots him a reproachful look, and Shiro relents. “Look, just… try for a little optimism. Commander Holt has more experience than anyone on the planet, Matt Holt is a tech genius, the three of us have been training for years, and the spaceship is stocked with more than enough equipment to counteract any complication. We’ll be fine. I promise.”

Keith nods, but looks away. To his left, he can see the other two members of Shiro’s crew with their family. They all seem excited. They’ve finished something akin to a photoshoot, and Commander Holt has his arms around a woman, presumably his wife. A dog runs in circles at their feet, unleashed but never straying from the couple. Off to the side, Matt Holt is speaking with a young girl who bears a remarkable resemblance to him. She’s wearing a dress of soft purple, a startling contrast against the orange and yellow of their surroundings. Little sister. They’re bickering and laughing. Keith drags his gaze back to Shiro, realizing that this is his one chance to say goodbye. He’s _not_ going to spend it preparing to close himself off from everyone in the world.

“Shiro, I—” 

“They’re signaling us to get to the ship,” Shiro interrupts, his expression becoming anguished for a split second. He reassumes his gentle smile a moment later. “Take care of yourself, okay? Stay in school and all that.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Shiro gives him a hug, and for once Keith brings up his arms to return it. He blinks, hard.

Two months after the launch, Keith watches the news from the mess hall at the Garrison. 

_Takashi Shirogane, Samuel Holt, and Matthew Holt are reported to be killed in action due to a piloting error during the Kerberos mission._

A strange mixture of shock, fury, and resignation stirs within him. Part of him can’t believe that Shiro would make a piloting error that resulted in his death. _He promised._ Another part of him taunts that this is just becoming the pattern of his life. Abandoned by his mother, orphaned by his father, left alone in the world by the closest thing he has to a brother. _But he promised_. In the back of his thoughts, his heart goes out to that family he’d seen at the launch—the Commander’s wife, daughter, and dog.

A week later, Keith is expelled from the Galaxy Garrison for insubordination.

 

\---

 

As the guards are drawn away by his explosion, Keith sprints towards the temporary lab set up at the site of the crash. Every sign has pointed to this spot, this moment. He knows that whatever has just fallen to the Earth has been calling out to him all this time, and he is _not_ going to let the Garrison get to it first. Not after everything else that those bastards have taken from him.

He bursts into the tent, attacking the med-techs standing in his way without a second thought. There’s a man laid out on an examination table, and Keith rushes to his side, ready to demand answers. But as he catches sight of his face…

“ _Shiro?”_ It doesn’t make any sense. But when has any of this made any sense? Before Keith can readjust to the new information, three kids barge in. One is wearing an expression of arrogance that immediately rubs Keith in the wrong way. One is seconds away from wringing his hands and looks terrified. The third… he looks like a little kid. A chillingly familiar kid…

The big guy says something about the guards coming back. Well, if there’s anyone who lives by the motto of ‘act first, ask questions later’, it’s Keith. The others pile onto the hovercraft, Keith checks to be sure that Shiro is secured, and they’re off.

 

\---

 

To have Shiro back, standing in this little structure Keith has turned into his house… it’s so surreal that he doesn’t even feel shock. He just carries on, explains what he’s been investigating, and doesn’t bat an eye at the fact that Shiro is _here_. In his house. Alive, well, and unchanged except for a tuft of white hair, a _metal arm_ , and a struggle in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. Keith doesn’t know what else to do _besides_ acting normal.

Oh, and there’s also three other people standing in his house. Three people he’s not sure if he should recognize. His time at the Garrison was a blur, with Shiro as the only constant. Though that shorter kid… his breath catches in his throat as the kid introduces himself only to ask immediately about the other members of the Kerberos mission crew. And all the pieces of the puzzle slide together so seamlessly that Keith swears he can hear something in the universe _click_.

He can’t believe he didn’t make the connection earlier. How many times has he looked over Shiro’s mission file, seen that _face_? Because this kid is the spitting image of Matthew Holt. And Keith can almost picture him—her—with longer hair, bickering with her brother, a soft purple dress standing out in the sunset. 

The others seem to think that she’s a boy. Pidge Gunderson. They suspect nothing, from what Keith can see. Well, he may not know the exact reason she’s choosing to hide her true identity, but he can guess her motives. He can see the fire in her eyes, a determination driven by love that is even stronger than the flame that had burned within Keith during Shiro’s absence. 

Shiro doesn’t seem to notice. Maybe it’s the amnesia; maybe it’s trauma. Too many things on the mind.

Whatever it is, Keith resolves to keep Katie Holt’s secret, even from Shiro. Far be it from him to stand in this girl’s way.

 

\---

 

Sendak has been defeated, Allura has regained control of the castle, and Lance is safe and healing in a pod. They’re all gathered around the pod, waiting for Hunk and Coran to return from the Balmera, and there’s a silence that Keith is beginning to become used to—a silence shared in camaraderie and thick with the exhausted satisfaction that comes after a hard-won battle. A silence that is nothing like the hollow emptiness that used to be his life.

Pidge is sitting on the steps. As Keith watches her bounce her leg, seemingly lost in thought, he can’t find any of the anger he’d felt just hours earlier. Maybe it hadn’t been anger at all. He sits down beside her.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” Pidge looks back at him with a tentative smile, and Keith feels shame welling up in his chest at his outburst from earlier. The shame is lodging beside a protective urge that, if he’s being honest with himself, has been building ever since he made the connection between Pidge and the Kerberos mission.

It’s not like she needs protecting; if anything, the events of the past few hours have proved that she’s as capable as Shiro. She’s just so _young_. And true, they’re all young—even Shiro, no matter how much he tries to hide it—but Pidge is barely a teenager. God, when Keith was fourteen, he hadn’t even been admitted to the Garrison yet. He’d been so reckless and directionless that if it weren’t for his guidance counselor, he probably would’ve… well, he probably would’ve just ended up in the desert much sooner.

Pidge is still looking at him expectantly, so Keith fumbles for the right thing to say. 

“Um, about earlier…”

“Don’t sweat it. Seriously,” she adds before he can open his mouth to protest. “You were just looking out for, you know, the entire universe. Can’t exactly fault you for that.” 

“Well, I don’t know if I was being entirely altruistic,” Keith admits. But heading down that train of thought will leave him far more vulnerable than he’s comfortable with, so he doesn’t elaborate. “But it doesn’t matter anyway. Shiro was right—”

“He usually is.”

Keith nods with a small chuckle. “Yeah. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. Sure, the universe is pretty important, but you don’t owe it anything. And we’re… we’re a team. And I should have respected your decision because it was _your_ decision. I mean… I get it, too. I get what it’s like to lose people you love.” He stops, looking down at his hands.

“Shiro, right?”

“Yeah.” Keith says quietly. He clears his throat. “So of all people, ah, I should’ve been more understanding. And if you… if you still want to go look for your family, I’ll support you in that.” He drags his gaze back to Pidge. She swallows visibly.

“Thanks, Keith. That means a lot.” She stands suddenly, extending her hand to him. “But actually… well, I think Shiro and Allura should hear this, too.” She says it loud enough to catch their attention, and they make their way over. Keith meets Pidge’s eyes, and he smiles. She’s going to stay.

He takes her hand, and she helps him to his feet.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! idk how my characterization turned out. look I KNOW keith isn’t Angst™ personified all the time he just decided to be extra angsty in this fic. not my fault.
> 
> also, if anyone is waiting on an update for Unsteady? I’m sorry, I’m disappointed too, and I… am not going to make the mistake of making promises of updates again. I can promise that I’m working on it. slowly. (I’M SORRY)


End file.
